Former Mets catcher and newly inducted Hall of Famer Mike Piazza will arrive to New York Mets Spring Training camp on Sunday to serve as a guest instructor for a few days.
There may be no player more excited to see the former Mets All Star catcher than the current team catcher himself, Travis d’Arnaud.
“It’s a dream,” d’Arnaud said on Saturday. “I worked with him a couple of years ago, and I felt like I was floating on cloud nine.” (Jamal Collier, MLB.com)
D’Arnaud was born and raised in California and was a huge Piazza fan growing up. When the announcement came that Piazza was voted into the Hall of Fame back in January, d’Arnaud said that he was jumping up and down like a 5-year old kid.
Piazza will enter the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets hat and will also have his uniform No. 31 retired by the organization this summer.
This will be the second time d’Arnaud will work with Piazza, as the two spent some time together in 2014. Back then, Piazza gave the Mets rookie some sage advice.
“Go out there and stay loose and have fun,” Piazza told d’Arnaud. “Because you play best when you’re loose, not when you’re tight.”
